Guccione falls to Giraldo

Chris Guccione's impressive run at the Claro Open Colombia has come to an end on Wednesday at the hands of sixth seed Santiago Giraldo.

Bogota, Colombia, 18 July 2013 | tennis.com.au

Chris Guccione’s impressive run at the Claro Open Colombia has come to an end on Wednesday at the hands of sixth seed Santiago Giraldo.

Playing in front of his home fans, the Colombian rallied to defeat the Australian left-hander 3-6 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes.

Guccione was a qualifier at the ATP event in Bogota, winning two matches to take his place in the main draw and then defeating Evgeny Korolev of Kazakhstan in the opening round.

Having reached the second round at an ATP-level event for the first time in two years, the Victorian looked as if he might keep his run going against Giraldo.

But despite seeing 12 aces whiz by him, the No.6 seed was able to survive Guccione’s tough challenge and progress to the quarterfinals, where he faces either second seed Kevin Anderson or Emilio Gomez of Ecuador.

Two other Australians, Matthew Ebden and James Duckworth, remain alive at the ATP 250 hardcourt event.